Lake Garda Wartime Bombs Removed in Italian Navy De-mining Operation

From this morning until Thursday, divers from the Marina militare (Italian Navy), supported by coast guard and police patrol boats, will recover 76 explosive devices, all remnants of the Second World War, now lying on the seabed of Lake Garda in the Lugana di Sirmione area.

These aircraft bombs, weighing approximately 11 kilograms each, will beTransported, with the necessary closure of the statal road SP 11, carefully, to a nearby location where explosive experts will detonate them in groups.

Discovery and demining operations

The discovery of the devices occurred during searches for those famous missiles abandoned in the lake by NATO aircraft returning from combat operations in the former Yugoslavia.

It was April 15, 1999. A true depot at just seven to eight meters depth, not entirely unknown to law enforcement, but due to its depth, perhaps considered not highly dangerous.

Now, the operation involves recovery and demining. However, it is not difficult to find hundreds of wartime remnants still in perfect condition on the lakebed of Lake Garda, making them highly dangerous.

For example, in Manerba, in 1982, over 200 unexploded bombs were recovered—residues of the Breda Testing Station, which had its control and testing site right on Lake Garda.